This disclosure is directed to an electrical junction box having fuse-containing sections configured to prevent loss of a fuse when the fuse falls down during an exchange of the fuse.
In an electrical junction box that is mounted on a motor vehicle, when any fuse contained in the electrical junction box has blown, a fuse puller is inserted into an opening for maintenance provided in a panel of a motor vehicle, the fuse puller holds the blown fuse fixed in one of fuse-containing sections and takes out the blown fuse from the section. Then, the fuse puller holds a new fuse and inserts it into the fuse-containing section.
In exchanging the blown fuse with a new one, when the blown fuse is a minimized type of fuse, i.e. very small in size, it is difficult for the fuse puller to firmly hold the fuse. Consequently, there are situations where the fuse falls out of the fuse puller. If the fuse falls down in an area of a lower floor side of the motor vehicle closed by a panel, it will be difficult to retrieve the loose fuse. In this case, unusual noises are often caused by the fuse rolling on the floor when driving the motor vehicle.
In consideration of the above problem, Japanese Utility Model Disclosure HEI 5 (1993)-31088 (hereinafter “JP '088”) discloses an electrical junction box 1 such as that shown in FIG. 7. The electrical junction box 1 includes a trim cover 3 with an opening 4, a fuse box 2 standing vertically inside the opening 4, a cover 5 that is rotatably supported on a lower part of the fuse box 2 and that covers fuses contained horizontally in the fuse box 2. The cover 5 is provided with a stopper 6 that serves to stop the fuse cover 5 on the fuse box 2. When the cover 5 is opened, the cover 5 extends outward from the opening 4 in the trim cover 3 and is supported horizontally on the fuse box 2.
In the configuration described above, since the electrical junction box is provided with the open/close fuse cover 5, the cover 5 can receive any fuse that falls down during maintenance, thereby preventing loss of the fuse.
In the electrical junction box 1 described above, it is necessary to form the opening 4 in the trim cover 3 so that the opening 4 is large enough for the fuse cover 5 to project therethrough. This requirement results in restricting design of the opening 4. On the other hand, if the size of the opening 4 is determined, the size of the cover 5 is restricted in connection with the opening 4. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a mechanism for turning the cover 5 and a stopper mechanism for stopping the cover 5 in the electrical junction box 1. This leads to a complicated structure for the above-described electrical junction box.
Also, since a space where a fuse puller can work to remove the fuse is required, if the fuse-containing sections are arranged near a bearing at a lower part of the cover 5, the cover 5 will interfere with the fuse puller, thereby restricting the working space for the fuse puller. Also, the cover 5 must be supported at a lower part spaced apart from the fuse-containing sections in order to define the working space, leading to the opening 4 in the trim cover 3 being larger.